The Chocolate Conundrum
by Ikathy
Summary: Laxus didn't care about Valentine's. At all. No, he didn't. Not a single bit. Nope. Laxus/Mirajane for Nat.


**The Chocolate Conundrum**

As soon as Laxus stepped inside the guild, he regretted it.

Heart-shaped balloons and pink props hanging on the walls blinded him as he pushed the door open and the sweet smell of chocolate hit his nostrils, making him frown in response. He usually avoided Valentine's Day like the plague as there was way too many girls coming from the city to deliver him love letters and other annoying stuff, so he would normally leave the Raijinshuu – minus Evergreen, since she always seemed too horrified to participate in the festivities – to handle this kind of thing on his behalf while he hid somewhere far, far away from any civilization. Freed had this way of shoving women out of the guild so politely that they didn't even realize what was going on until the door was slammed shut behind their backs by Bickslow.

It worked wonders for him and his bodyguards never complained – he suspected Bickslow found it extremely amusing, actually –, so he kept this system working for a few years… until his interest on a certain white-haired mage overcame his urge to escape to the mountains at the mention of 'Valentine'. He had been indulging himself in some harmless flirting with her for quite some time now, but nothing really had happened. Still, he wondered if she would remember him on the date.

Not that he cared about those stupid things. He was just _curious_ , that's all.

Carefully not to drag too much attention, the Dragon Slayer slipped through the backside door, ending up in the guild's backstage. He surveyed the room in search for crazy women – and also men –, finding it secure enough for him to reveal himself, and walked away from the shadows, heading to the bar.

As usual, Mirajane was behind the counter, smiling cheerily at the people gathered around her. He watched her carefully before stepping any further, a small smirk on his lips as she absently filled the mugs with beer before delivering them to the waiting customers.

His smirk faded as quickly as it formed on his face, though, when the white-haired mage handed a tiny bag of chocolates to Gray.

His brows furrowed in confusion and tiny lightning sparks unconsciously flew from the tip of his fingers – in a totally unintended way of course, _not_ because he was jealous, _definitely not_. He let out a small snort, feeling a vein pulsing on his forehead, but said nothing as the scene in front of him unrolled. The ice mage thanked her warmly, but didn't show any signs he was romantically interested on Mirajane, and just kept chatting with her about something irrelevant.

And then Erza came and received a bag too. And then Lucy. And Natsu and Happy.

It was just then that he noticed the big box behind the bar, from where the eldest Strauss sibling was picking up the small bags and giving them to everyone that showed up to greet her.

… Ok, so it wasn't that bad.

He couldn't put much thought into it, though, as Mirajane noticed his presence and blinked in surprise at his direction, a faint blush covering her cheeks.

"Hey, Laxus!" She greeted warm-heartedly after he closed the distance between them, standing in front of the bar counter. "I wasn't expecting to see you here today."

Grunting in response, the Dragon Slayer let his huge coat slide from his shoulders, tossing it at the nearest seat. She gave him a small smile before reaching for a mug and filling it with beer, offering the drink to him. He looked at it for a moment, then turned back to look at her with expectation on his eyes, but she only blinked again, not seeming to understand what he wanted – which was quite obvious, in his opinion.

Their eye contact soon broke, though, as Jet and Droy approached the bar to grab a few drinks, making her attention be directed towards them. Laxus watched intently as the Take Over mage reached for a bottle in the nearest shelf and poured the liquid on two separate glasses, handing them over to her guild mates, not before she retrieved a pair of tiny bags from the box to give them.

As the two members of Team Shadow Gear returned to their table, Mirajane resumed her tasks of cleaning dishes and serving drinks to other people, completely ignoring him. Every time someone approached the bar, she greeted the person with a "Happy Valentine's Day" and the damned little bag, totally oblivious to the fact that _he_ hasn't received his yet. What the hell, was she doing that on purpose?

But he still _didn't_ care anyway. He was just wondering why on earth she was refusing to address the elephant in the room, that's all.

While Mirajane pretended he wasn't there, he took the opportunity to sip his drink. Perhaps she was too shy to talk to him in the presence of other guild members and was just waiting for a chance to catch him alone. That's fine, he could wait too.

And wait.

And wait.

Four or five convenient moments have come and gone, and Mirajane was still giving him the cold treatment, as she couldn't even stand to look him in the face. There was a void between where he stood and her spot behind the bar that she didn't dare to cross, preferring to extend her arm as far as possible if she wanted to reach out something that was near him rather than taking a couple of steps to grab it.

Laxus downed his beer and huffed loudly, which finally caught the Take Over mage's attention.

"Do you want a refill?" Mirajane asked, shooting him a weird smile, but he didn't spend too much thought on that, he was too pissed at her question. It was pretty clear by now she just didn't _care_ to give him the damn bag of chocolates.

Fine, _neither_ did he. She could distribute them to all the people in Magnolia or shove them upon a very intimate place, it was none of his business. Heck, he didn't even like sweets.

So he didn't reply to her; instead, the Dragon Slayer grabbed his wallet, tossed some bills on the counter and turned his back on her to climb the steps to the second floor, not waiting for the change. Accommodating himself in the farthest table, he put his headphones on, completely blocking the outside world. He wouldn't sulk over a stupid chocolate.

He wouldn't.

.

.

It was almost nightfall when Laxus went down the stairs. He would have left sooner if that damned fan club of his hadn't decided to show up at the exact time he was about to take off, scattering the main floor like cockroaches in search for crumbs of his presence.

As if his day couldn't get any worse (nope, still _not_ caring).

Apparently, there was going to be some event outside the guild, for a huge crowd was gathered at the front door entrance. Better for him, he could sneak out by the back door and be gone in just a matter of seconds, as if he wasn't even there for starters.

As soon as he started walking, though, Mirajane's voice sounded behind him.

"Are you mad at me?" She asked hesitantly, not daring to look directly at him.

Laxus glanced at her for a few moments before turning his back again and heading to the backside, grunting involuntarily. "No, why would I?"

"Liar." The white-haired mage held his arm before he could step any further, forcing him to stare directly at her blue orbs. "I know you're upset and I'm sorry."

"For what?" He stubbornly replied, not really wanting to acknowledge the fact that maybe, _maybe_ , he cared a little. Like, the size of a pea or something.

Mirajane sighed deeply, letting go of his arm. "For not giving you any chocolates."

"I don't care about these things."

"Laxus, you're pouting." She pointed out.

"I'm not." He snorted, which made her roll her eyes at him in response.

"It's just… You never show up for Valentine's and I really didn't expect you to be here today, otherwise I would… These simpler chocolates are for friends, not for…" She paused for a moment, biting her lower lip. "you know."

One of his brows raised slowly and fine, he had to admit he was intrigued now. Before he could say anything, though, Mirajane was pulling him towards the bar.

"I'm pretty sure I can still improvise something." She mumbled thoughtfully while disappearing behind the counter. Laxus waited impatiently as the white-haired mage rummaged in the cabinets, not quite getting how she could make up to him, but he made no protest as the woman seemed too eager to prove her point.

After a few seconds of searching, she finally found what she was looking for. Straightening herself, Mirajane smiled brightly at him.

"Look!" She showed him a bottle of chocolate syrup the kind that was used as ice cream topping. He lifted an eyebrow quizzically at her, but she was too busy trying to open the small container to notice. "If I manage to unplug this, I can surely-oops!"

The lid came out too abruptly, splashing syrup all over Mirajane's face… and cleavage.

 _Shit_.

He pressed his lips together, jaw clenching with tension. He knew he shouldn't stare. He _shouldn't_ , but it was so… _Shit_.

The Dragon Slayer took everything he got to look up. Her eyes were still a bit widened by the surprise burst of chocolate that hit her and a faint tone of red was spreading on her cheeks. She blinked a few times before finally looking up to meet his gaze, but what she did next he would have never guessed.

She smirked at him. Quite mischievously, he should remark.

"Oh my," She sang innocently, batting her eyelashes at him. "what should we do with all this syrup now?"

And while his own eyes were widening in surprise, Mirajane simply licked a few drops that had fallen on her arm, still staring very intently at him.

When he managed to regain his composure a few moments later, his smirk mirrored her own as he lifted the side of the balcony to join her behind the bar. He had no idea how the situation escalated to that point, but _that_ he could _definitely_ _assure_ he didn't care the slightest.

* * *

 **N/A:** This didn't come out as I expected. Anyways, happy Valentine's Day everyone (let's pretend I'm not late).


End file.
